The present invention generally relates to a credential manufacturing device and, more particularly, to a credential manufacturing device having an auxiliary input for receiving individual plastic card substrates for processing.
Credentials include identification cards, driver's licenses, passports, and other documents. Such credentials are formed from credential substrates including paper substrates, plastic substrates, cards and other materials. Credentials generally include printed information, such as a photo, account numbers, identification numbers, and other personal information. An overlaminate may also be laminated to the surfaces of the credential substrate to protect the surfaces from damage and, in some instances, provide a security feature (e.g., hologram). Additionally, credentials can include data that is encoded in a smartcard chip, a magnetic stripe, or a barcode, for example.
Credential manufacturing devices process credential substrates to complete at least a portion of the final credential. Exemplary processes performed by credential manufacturing devices include printing images on one or more surfaces of the credential substrate, laminating an overlaminate film to a surface of the credential substrate, writing or encoding data to the credential substrate, and other processes. Exemplary credential substrate processing components configured to perform these processes include a print head, a laminating roller, and an encoding device.
Card substrates used, for example, to form identification cards and credit cards, are typically rigid or semi-rigid card substrates that are formed of plastic. During the processing of such plastic card substrates it is desirable to avoid bending the cards. As a result, paper sheet feed mechanisms, found in traditional paper printers and copiers, are not suitable for handling the rigid or semi-rigid identification card substrates due to the damage that would result from the card substrate being fed through numerous bends around rollers that exist in the sheet feed path of traditional paper sheet feed mechanisms. Rather, credential manufacturing devices that are configured for handling the rigid or semi-rigid plastic card substrates include a card transport mechanism that is configured to feed the card substrate along a processing path that is substantially void of significant bends and is relatively flat.
In order to process both sides of a plastic card substrate, the card transport mechanism of a credential manufacturing device cannot invert the card substrate by routing the card around several rollers, as is the case for inverting a paper sheet in paper sheet printers and copiers. Rather, the necessity of having a relatively flat processing path to process plastic card substrates makes it necessary to utilize a card substrate “flipper” or “rotator” in order to invert the card substrate for dual-sided processing of the card substrate.
Card substrates are typically stored in a substrate supply, such as a hopper or a cartridge, and are fed from the supply along the substantially flat processing path for processing by the card processing components of the credential manufacturing device. Following the completion of the card substrate processing, the processed card substrate is discharged into a collection hopper or bin.
Occasionally, it may be desired to process a credential substrate, such as a card substrate, that is different from those contained in the supply. For instance, card substrates can have many different features including, for example, a magnetic bar code, a smart card chip and a proximity device. Additionally, cards may come in different sizes. Thus, in the event that one would like to process a card substrate that is different than those available in the supply, the operator must remove the card substrates from the supply and install the new substrate in the supply for processing. Following the processing of the new substrate, the previous substrates can be reinstalled in the supply to continue processing them. As a result, it can be somewhat cumbersome to process a different type of substrate than that found in the substrate supply.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.